The present invention relates to a carrying device for plastic bags commonly used in supermarkets, discount stores, drug stores, or any other industry using plastic bags to carry merchandise from the store to the home. More specifically, this invention relates to a carrying device used to carry and contain multiple plastic bags using one hand.
In North America and much of Europe, plastic bags have become one of the most popular types of bag used to carry merchandise. When groceries are packed into the bags, there are usually more than one bag to carry, and they become difficult and awkward to handle. A compact, light weight, hand held carrying device, that can easily be stored in a pocket or handbag will allow a customer to carry multiple plastic bags comfortably using one hand in an organized manner. This will save the customer time and aggravation when carrying, loading, transporting and unloading one or more bags.
In the past, plastic grocery store bags with handles have been carried uncomfortably using one or two hands. When transporting the bags in an automobile, the bags tend to shift and slide, making them difficult to gather and reorganize. This method of carrying and transporting plastic grocery store bags, make it difficult to keep the bags organized and contained. It also increases the amount of stress that is put directly on the hands and fingers when carrying multiple bags.
One known carrying device is the xe2x80x9cCarrying Memberxe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,059, which is constructed of an injection molded polypropylene material. The carrying member is comprised of an upper gripping portion, the ends of which continue into outside portions, extending downward to a lower bag handle receiving region. The lower receiving region is used to carry one or more plastic bags by slipping them up through a gap and fitting them onto two support arms. A problem associated with this prior art is having to balance an equal number of bags on each support arm to insure proper balance. When carrying only one bag you must separate the individual handle portions of the bag and fit them individually on the two support arms balancing the load at the middle of the carrying member.
Another known carrying device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,052. The bag carrier is a flat design comprised of a horizontal upper handle section, connected to a horizontal lower hook support section by connecting vertical members. Multiple hooks on the bag carrier allow for bags to be attached or removed from the carrier. A problem associated with this prior art device is the time consuming task of attaching each bag to a separate hook and then removing each bag from a separate hook when using this device. The device is also constructed of a rigid material, which does not completely eliminate the stress put directly on the fingers. No device is known however, that can be used to carry multiple plastic grocery store bags comfortably, using a foam covered handle, and a single fastening device with a quick release safety gate that allows the user to attach multiple bags quickly and easily.
The principle object of the present invention is to provide a carrying device that attaches directly to the plastic handles on plastic bags commonly found in supermarkets, discount stores, drug stores, or any other industry using plastic bags. It also is an object of the present invention to allow a customer to carry multiple bags using one hand comfortably eliminating the amount of stress that is placed directly on the fingers and hand. Another object is to provide a device that will keep the bags grouped together and organized, allowing the customer to easily carry them, load them into the automobile, transport them in the automobile, and unload the bags when leaving the automobile. A further object is to provide such a device that can easily be stored in a handbag, purse, or pant pocket when not in use.
The foregoing can be accomplished by providing a carrying device, that is compact in size, and has a foam covered handle, with a fastening device that attaches to the handles of commonly used plastic bags. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the horizontal handle is tubular in shape, and covered with a foam handgrip. The inside of the tubular shaped handle, will be hollow, to allow a nylon strap, to be inserted directly through the center of the rigid tubular shaped handle. A fastening device will be suspended from the horizontal handgrip, by a nylon strap, and attached by either a straight stitch or x-tack sewing stitch.